


Dhanush

by EsmerianDreamer



Series: Hetalian Fairytales [6]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Arthur is a dick, Don't confuse this Amadeo with the lovechild from 'Spaniard and the Beast', Explicit Language, I'm gonna add triggers to every chapter I write from now on, IT IS RAREPAIR TIME BITCHES, M/M, Robin Hood AU, The M rating is mostly because there is lots of language, This fic might get dark y'all
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:08:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27328555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EsmerianDreamer/pseuds/EsmerianDreamer
Summary: ((The title is meant to mean 'longbow', please correct me if you actually speak Hindi ;w; ))-1105, the kingdom of Iberia. The king, Ramon, has left for the crusades along with the crown-prince. In his place, his brother Amadeo reins. King Amadeo makes the kingdom pay more and more taxes, and it is causing a nationwide famine. Anyone who tries to rebel against the regime dies at the gallows or slowly whithers away in cold damp dungeons.Only one man dares to stand against him. His name... is Raj Kumar.-(Inspired by the studio 100 musical 'Robin Hood'. Please do not copy to other sites without my permission.)
Relationships: India/Spain
Series: Hetalian Fairytales [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1582621
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	1. Raj and his Merry Men

**Author's Note:**

> ((Me: Cool! Hetalia will be returning in 2021! Man, I should really finish my WIPs already... I'll make a poll on dA to figure out what I should focus on.  
> dA poll: GIVE US ROBIN HOOD  
> Me: .....Alright then-
> 
> So, here we are! India/Spain is a pairing I discovered due to my good friend HTTS-India's India- Their Raj is so great, I love him ;w;
> 
> Hope you enjoy!
> 
> In case people ask:  
> Bohai = Macau = Friar Tuck  
> Leon = Hong Kong = Little John
> 
> I might change the names if people point out they're offensive/wrong-
> 
> WARNINGS FOR THIS CHAPTER:  
> \- Physical violence  
> \- Slutshaming language due to unwedded mother  
> \- Threats/Talk of rape (No actual rape is shown)  
> \- Alcohol usage

It was another day. Everything was quiet, even though a few people were already at work. Merel could already hear her mother preparing food for the day. It wouldn't be much, it never was these days, but the girl knew her mother did her best to feed their small family with what they had.

Uncle Nicolaas was already in the  yard, she could hear his footsteps in the mud as he cared for their remaining few animals. And aunt Ida was downstairs in her corner, recovering from the harsh cold she had caught from someone at the market while selling the fabric she spun.

Merel crawled out of bed and put her clothes on, before going downstairs to see if she could help her mother. Seeing her stirring the pot over the fire, Merel walked over and hugged her around the waist.

"Morning, mama."

"Good morning, my dear." Sanne ruffled her daughter's brown hair with a smile. "How did you sleep?"

"Alright, I guess. Do you need any help cooking?"

"Thank you for offering, but I'll be fine. Perhaps you can help your uncle?"

Merel gave a nod, skipping outside. Her uncle was sitting on a stool by their cow, trying to milk her. But Emma, stubborn as she was, refused to really stand still. Nicolaas was grumbling softly, trying to calm her. Hearing his niece come over, he looked over, face softening.

"Good morning, dear girl. How are you this morning?"

"I'm alright. Is Emma being stubborn again?"

Nicolaas just gave a sigh. "I cannot say I blame her. It's difficult enough for her to make milk, the poor thing. And getting her food is becoming difficult."

Merel nodded, going over to pet the cow a bit. "...We don't have to bring her to the butcher, do we?" She asked, frowning at her uncle.

"...I'm afraid it'll be our only choice soon. Though I hate knowing she will most likely end up on that bastard king's plate." Nicolaas spat at the ground. He softened again at seeing Merel's lip tremble. 

"But it will not come to that yet, little blackbird. I promise. Now, if you could calm her like you are doing now, I'll try and squeeze out what we can get."

The girl nodded, wiping at her eyes a bit before gently petting Emma's nose, pressing kisses to it. The cow was closing her eyes, gently huffing warm air in her face as she enjoyed the pets, completely ignoring the man trying to milk her.

For a long moment, it seemed things were quiet. But then, there was the sound of heavy boots and plated  armor . Merel looked over to see a small group of guards marching up to their house.

"Uncle Nic..?"

Nicolaas looked up too, and cursed under his breath. "They get here earlier each month, the bastards... We still had a day or two more. C'mon, let's get inside."

He stood, picking up the bucket of milk and taking Merel by the hand, pulling her along inside. Merel stumbled along, feeling scared again. She didn't like these days. Part of her wanted to flee upstairs, but after the first  tax day , she knew the guards would drag her into sight again anyway.

Her uncle had barely put away the bucket of milk when there was a harsh knock on the door. Merel watched as her mother quickly hurried to the door to open it.

"Sheriff Kirkland. Good morning."

Merel shrunk back behind her uncle as she watched the sheriff and a few guards step inside. She didn't like that man. She never did. When sheriff Kirkland was hired by king Amadeo when she was only 5, she'd seen straight through his façade of "I have the best of intentions for this place.". 

Kirkland was a bastard, and she didn't care that her mother didn't like her using that word. Because he was. He was a big bastard.

Kirkland lazily looked around their home, then held out his hand. "Let's just get it over with for this month, shall we, love?"

Merel didn't fail to notice how her uncle hid his disgust, nor how her mother suppressed a shiver as she nodded and went to grab the coins they'd set aside for the month. She brought them to the man, handing them over.

The sheriff stared at the small  handful of coins for a long moment, then back up at her. "...You must be fucking with me. Where is the rest?"

" I.. This is all of it, my lord. We've had a bit of a harsher month, and my sister got sick, so we-"

She was cut off as Kirkland smacked her right across the face, knocking her to the ground. The man tutted a bit, pulling her up again by her arm.

"All I am hearing are excuses. You know our gracious king only asks for 15 gold pieces a month, surely you can spare that much for his protection and leadership?"

"We  tried, I swear. But my sister, she got sick, and-" Sanne tried to explain, only to be slapped again. Merel hid behind her uncle, who was clenching his fists.

Kirkland just gave a sigh, cupping Sanne's face and stroking the forming bruise with his thumb. Almost like a lover, if he wasn't pressing down harshly on the bruise. 

"You disappoint me and the king, my dear. Though, I should not expect an unmarried farm whore to be anything else. I would suggest you take to the streets and get money that way, but who would want  a used and tainted, useless and poor little sl-"

"DON'T TALK TO HER THAT WAY!" Nicolaas suddenly shouted, pushing the sheriff off of his sister. Before he could do anything else, he was grabbed by one of the guards. Kirkland tutted at him a bit.

"My,  my . It seems we got a brave one here. First, you fail to pay taxes, then you attack me? Perhaps I should make an example of you, hm?" He glanced at the guards. "Throw this pathetic waste of time in the dungeons."

Her mother gave a yell as the guards held her back. Nicolaas struggled as he was grabbed and pulled away. As he was dragged to the door, he met his niece's eye, who was trembling by the back door. 

"Merel, run! To the woods! Warn Raj Kumar!"

Merel's heart nearly dropped. She'd heard many stories of the rogue nobleman, his men sometimes left them small pouches of money in the shed. She'd never seen the man himself, but if her uncle told her to find him, she would.

But before she could run out the door, the harsh hands of Kirkland grabbed her, holding her tight, covering her mouth. The man was laughing at her uncle, as were the guards.

"Raj Kumar? That cowardly thief? As if he can go against our king!"

Nicolaas grit his teeth. "Amadeo is not our king! He will never be! Long live king Ramon!"

"Silence, you pest!" Kirkland snapped as the guards held swords to Nicolaas's neck. "King Ramon is in the past. His brother will rule our country better than some idiot that had to go on a crusade with the crown prince. But don't worry, if they ever decide to return, king Amadeo has a great present for them. Begging canes."

This made the guards roar with laughter. Kirkland waved a hand at them. "Go throw that piece of dirt in the dungeons. Take his sisters too while you're at it. Perhaps they can be used for more fun ways if you feel the nee-"

Merel had heard enough by now. Taking advantage of Kirkland's distracted state, she bit his hand hard and slammed her heel down on his foot. When he yelled in pain and released her, she rushed out the door.

"GRAB THE LITTLE BRAT!!"

She ran faster at hearing that, jumping the fence and speeding towards the woods through the town. For a brief moment, it seemed she would be caught, only for a hand to suddenly yank her into an alleyway. Her yelp of alarm was muffled by another hand, and she looked at who had grabbed her.

A cloaked and ragged looking man was holding her close, watching the guards rush past the alleyway. Merel knew him. This was Silent Santigo, or at least that's what the kids called him when he arrived here a few months ago. The  beggar never spoke, and her aunt had told her it was due to a war injury. Even though he never showed his full face, which was undoubtably full of scars, Merel never felt scared around him. He seemed like a kind man who wouldn't hurt a soul.

Once the guards were gone, Santigo let go of her, clearly watching her from under his hood. Cracked lips mouthed a single word at her. Okay? She nodded quickly.

"Thank you. I need to go to the woods and warn Raj Kumar. Can you help me?" She whispered. Santigo gave a nod, taking her by the hand and quickly leading her further down the alleyway. He held her climb a small wall, pointing towards the woods. His urgent pointing told her enough. Hurry up.

Merel nodded in thanks at him, squeezing his hand for a moment. "Thanks so much. God bless you, sir."

He just nodded, seemingly smiling. You too, he seemed to say, before ushering her away. Merel nodded back, then ran again.

Once in the woods, she kept running as fast as her legs could carry her. Even though she no longer heard the guards behind her, there was no telling that they weren't following. Merel jumped over fallen trees, weaved her way through prickly bushes, and moved over rocks to cross the streams.

After what felt like at least half an hour, she stopped to catch her breath, ducking behind some trees and flopping down on her behind. She listened carefully for a moment, and was relieved to hear no shouting. Looking around, she spotted a blackberry bush nearby, and gratefully plucked a few to regain her strength.

Chewing on the dark berries, she took a moment to rest. Now, where would this Raj Kumar be? He probably had a hiding spot somewhere. But where? She sighed, wishing her uncle could've given better instructions to find this man.

Once her little meal was eaten, she cleaned her hands on her skirt, looking around. She faintly remembered the story her mother once told her. A bedtime story to make her hope for better times.

"The old tree is the key." She mumbled to herself. "..That doesn't give me much to go on, there are lots of trees here. It's the woods, mom."

She shook her head a bit, feeling the entire situation  kinda crashing down on her. Refusing to cry, she rubbed furiously at her eyes, but it didn't stop the pit in her stomach.

"Pull yourself together, Merel. This is no time to panic." She mumbled to herself. "...Let's just... look. You can find it eventually."

Nodding to herself, she resumed walking. But she had barely taken a couple of steps before the ground seemed to grab her, pulling her up into the air. Merel yelped, clinging to whatever had grabbed her.

A net.

"Oh, come on..."

* * *

The hidden clearing was bustling with laughter and talking. Cups of wine were being shared among the group, all thanks to a certain friar, who had stolen an entire cart of wine that was heading for the castle.

While Bohai wasn't drinking much, he was smiling as the drunk men and women kept gleefully thanking him. A woman had nearly knocked off his spectacles in trying to thank him with a kiss, and she was currently fast asleep with her head on his lap.

Leon however, was chugging cup after cup, seemingly not even getting drunk as the men cheered and egged him on. The man was laughing as a drunk man was hanging onto his shoulder, rubbing his back as the poor fellow seemed to be way over his limit.

But the main man of the hour hadn't drunk a drop, it seemed. Instead, Raj was sitting with some of the elderly and the mothers, chatting with them while sharing food. 

Many of the people that joined him had to leave home and loved ones behind, for escaping to the woods was tricky enough on your own, not to mention with children. Raj's men had found women half-starved to death by creeks, their infants clinging to a barren breast. Men with broken legs, who still tried to walk.

It was difficult to see each time, even after 3 years of this awful situation.  But, Raj couldn't turn anyone away. People were nursed back to health, and those that were strong enough joined his crew of thieves.

But right now, things seemed calm. As calm as they could be, these days. And the calm rarely lasted. Such as now. Raj was about to reach for another apple, when there was the sound of the hunters returning. 

They were early. Way too early. Raj stood to go and meet them, frowning in worry a bit. Maybe the king's men were too close? Or someone got hurt? He hoped it wasn't too serious.

The reason for the hunters' early return was something else entirely. The two hunters were struggling to hold a young girl, hushing her. 

"We found her in one of the nets, sir. She said she was looking for you."

Looking her over, she couldn't be older than eight, maybe almost nine. Her simple dress was covered in mud, and had torn in a few places. Her green eyes were wild as she kept struggling against those that held her, and it seemed her nails had been used to fight them off.

Raj quickly gestured the two men to let her go, frowning. The girl was let go, and she yanked herself a few steps away from them, scowling. She seemed like a fierce little one, and Raj chuckled lightly.

"You're rather violent towards those that only try to help, little one. What's your name?"

The girl frowned at him. "...I thought they were soldiers. I don't like being grabbed." She crossed her arms a bit, then seemed to soften. "...Are you Raj Kumar?"

"I am. And who might you be, little wildcat?" Raj mused, amused by how she bristled a bit at the nickname.

"I'm Merel. My uncle sent me." She said after a moment. "..He told me to warn you. My uncle, my aunt, and my mother, they... the sheriff captured them, and I..." She was shaking.  ".. I don't know what to do.."

Raj gently hushed her, getting down to her level and patting her shoulder. "It's alright, you'll be safe here. Come, let's go sit down, we'll get you something to eat, and you can tell me the whole story."

Merel sniffled and nodded, following Raj as he led her to sit by the group. The laughter and banter had died down a lot by now, as many had spotted the young girl. She was sat down by one of the campfires, and given some of the rabbit meat that was being served.

"Alright, let's start the story from the beginning, shall we?" Raj mused as Merel munched on some of the meat. "The sheriff captured your mother."

Merel swallowed a bite, and nodded. "It's  tax day . My mom and uncle did their best to get enough money, but my aunt was sick for the past few weeks.  So the sheriff got mad, and..." She looked disgusted. "...He said mom should just go on the streets, but nobody would want her. He called her a whore."

Raj frowned at that. "...That's disgusting of him. Why would she be a whore?"

She gave a shrug, taking another bite. "I don't have a father. But uncle Nic said mom met a really kind man one day, and they liked each other a lot, so they made me. But that man left before she could marry him. People say that makes her a whore."

There was a disgusted murmur from the others. One of the women sighed and patted Merel's back. "Your mom is no whore. I'm sorry that happened to you."

Merel sighed, a shaky sound, and suddenly just began sobbing into her hands. "...They're gonna kill them... I know they are... Aunt Ida won't survive in a dungeon..."

Raj blinked in realization. Oh, this was Sanne's kid, wasn't she? He remembered her from when he started to give back stolen gold to the poor. The woman had thought he was a thief that had snuck into her shed, and she had already whacked him hard with a shovel a few times before he'd explained himself.

He reached over, pulling the girl into a hug and gently hushing her. "It's going to be  okay, I promise. Everything will be alright. You're safe here with us." He gently rocked her back and forth, stroking her hair.

As he felt her calm down a bit, Raj looked at some of his men and women nearby. Judging from their faces, they all shared the same thought. This was going too far.

Perhaps it was time to pay a visit to the castle and bust some people out.


	2. Green eyes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for this chapter:  
> \- Off-screen death  
> \- Blood mention

Dinner had passed by now. Antonio was pretty sure it had. But he couldn't bring it in himself to feel hungry. He couldn't even bring himself to get up from his chair. The sun was setting before his eyes as he stared out the window, trapped in his own head.

The small bag felt heavy on his lap. He'd torn his eyes away from the contents, no longer able to shed tears over it. His fingers  idly ran along the shape of the object, and he lightly bit his lip to stop another rush of tears.

Being called on by his uncle was never a good sign these days. A few years ago, he would've been happy. Father had promised him that uncle Amadeo would take good care of him, would train him to be the king if his father and brother perished on the battlefield. 

Instead, as soon as Ramon was out of the country, Amadeo had basically stripped his nephew of his rights. Slowly, right under Antonio's nose, he'd made sure Antonio wasn't his heir to the throne. At least, not directly. Through loopholes and bribing people, Amadeo had made sure that Antonio would only gain power if he married a suitor his uncle appointed. Which was, well, nobody.

There had been a glimmer of hope, of course. Ramon and Gabriel could still return, they were still the rightful heirs by blood. So, Antonio prayed, day after day, that his father and brother would return. Praying for them to bring salvation.

But today, it seemed all that praying had been for nothing. This afternoon, Amadeo had called him to the throne room. Before Antonio could even properly bow, Amadeo had bluntly stated the words that had haunted his nightmares.

"Ramon and Gabriel are dead."

Antonio had just stared at his uncle in shock, who smirked widely.

"Ah, yes, it's the news all over town today. Haven't you heard, dear boy?~ There was an ambush on your father's army. Big battle, sad to say there were no survivors. Pity, isn't it?"

Antonio felt his blood run cold. "...You're lying." He choked out. 

"Now, sadly, this time I'm not~ I received a little present." He pulled out a cloth bag, opening it. Inside, there were two familiar crowns. Antonio felt himself choke up as Amadeo looked his father's crown over with a bored look, and gave Gabriel's circlet a huff, tossing it to the ground.

"...Such a shame. But good riddance. This crown never did look good on Ramon's head. And now, it's mine."

He gave the crown to a servant. "Go clean this. I want it to shine, not a speck of my pathetic brother's blood left."

Antonio had picked up the circlet, staring at the amber gemstones, surrounded by blood-splattered silver. He clenched his fists, yanking the bag out of his uncle's hands and putting his brother's circlet inside. 

"...have you no shame..?? Your brother and nephew are dead. How can you act so... so..." He croaked out, stepping away. 

"...I don't believe you. They're not dead, they can't be. You cannot convince me of this." He snapped, before running off to his room. 

He'd hidden himself inside, sitting in his chair by the window, bawling over his brother's circlet. The tears had dried up after a while, and he'd been staring out the window ever since.

The soft knock on his door barely registered, and it wasn't until it returned that he croaked out a soft "It's open." to whoever was there. Judging from the footsteps, he knew who it was.

" ....I got you some left-over dinner, your highness." Elliot stated, showing him a tray of food. Antonio just glanced at it, then at him, and shook his head.

"..'m not hungry."

"Hey now, you really do need to eat, otherwise you'll get sick. C'mon, have some of the meat at least."

Antonio supressed a sigh as his personal servant sat by him, and dutifully ate the bite of rabbit the other sort of forced into his mouth. "...What's the point,  Elliot..? " He mumbled once he swallowed the bite. "...What's the point of this  all..? My father is dead, my brother is dead... My life is in Amadeo's hands, what kind of life is that..?"

Elliot looked up from trying to put another good bite on the spoon. Even though he tried to smile, there was pain in his dark-blue eyes. "We shouldn't give up hope yet, your highness. Maybe your father and brother aren't dead. At least, I don't think they are. Things turn out well in ways we don't expect. Besides, there's always Raj Kumar."

Antonio nearly choked on the bite of food he was fed. He laughed a bit, shaking his head in sad amusement. "Raj Kumar? Raj Kumar is a thief, a common bandit. What could he do to save us?"

"He used to be a  nobleman, you know." Elliot mused. "Your father respected his family quite a lot, they were loyal to him. Raj and his people have hidden themselves well deep in the woods, and I'm pretty sure your uncle and his sheriff are terrified of him."

Antonio chuckled lightly, letting out a sigh. He turned to the other, gently taking the tray from him and placing it to  the side. "..Thank you for the food, Elliot. I'd like to be alone now, if you don't mind."

"Of course. Do you need anything else tonight, your highness?"

"No, thank you. Have a good night, Elliot."

Elliot gave him a polite nod, and bowed before leaving the room. Antonio heard him close the door very gently as he resumed staring out the window. He lightly bit his lip as he folded his hands together in prayer again.

"...If you're still there, please... Please send me some sort of sign that things will turn out okay.."

* * *

It was both a blessing and a curse that the dungeons could only be reached by going through the castle. On the one hand, it was easier to get caught by the king's soldiers. But on the other hand, while they were here, Raj's men could snag a few trinkets here and there on the way.

Bohai had snuck them to the castle, using the very cart he'd used to sneak wine to the forest. Due to his status as a friar, the king hadn't figured out he was part of Raj's rebel group. At least, not yet. Once the cart was in place, Bohai gave a little knock on the wheel as he walked away, and soon Raj and his people snuck out of the cart and into the castle.

Raj made sure to split his group up a bit. A handful of people would sneak down to the dungeons with him, the others would be on the look-out and would be... taking back possessions. A perfect plan.

Getting to the dungeons, things seemed to be getting difficult, but with Leon easily distracting and knocking two guards out, it would give them enough time to do things without being spotted. The dungeons were rather empty, most likely because most prisoners were only here for a day before going to the gallows.

Raj snuck up to a small cell that seemed to be holding three people. He smiled lightly. Bingo. He came a bit closer.

"Hey. Psst."

One of the people looked up, furrowing his brows in confusion, before his eyes widened in recognition. Raj put a finger to his lips and shushed him before the other could say his name.

"Nicolaas, right? I'm getting you guys out. Are you three okay?"

Nicolaas swallowed and nodded a bit. "We're fine, but my younger sister is sick."

"We'll get her help, just hold tight." Raj whispered back, grabbing his lockpicking tools. Once the door opened with a click, he gestured for one of his team to help the sickly woman in the cell.

The other woman, who Raj recognized as Sanne, grabbed his hands in thanks. "God bless you, sir.  I.. I don't know what would've happened if you didn't come along. How did you..?"

Raj chuckled lightly. "Your daughter is a smart one. She's back at the forest with my people."

"Oh, thank God." Nicolaas sighed. "..Is she okay?"

"She's fine, don't worry. She nearly clawed my hunters' arms to shreds, let me tell you." Raj joked a bit. "Come, let's get out of here before the guards come back."

The two siblings nodded, following Raj as they tried to sneak back the way they came. But it seemed that that was going to be difficult. Judging from the amount of shouting and torch lights in the building, someone had been spotted.

Cursing under his breath, Raj turned to his team. "Get them to safety, I'll find another way out myself. Go!" He hissed, running another way. While the others ran one way, Raj started rushing up some stairs, rounding corners to avoid the sound of guards. Perhaps he could jump out a window somewhere around here.

After a bit of running, there was a moment of relief in which Raj believed he'd found a quiet hallway. Now he just needed to find a window or something to climb out of, so he could regroup with the others somewhere else.

But that moment was shattered as he heard a gasp behind him. He quickly turned, his dagger at the ready, only to see a young man in sleepwear standing there in a doorway. 

Even through the darkness, the man didn't seem to be a guard, judging by the lack of any sort of roughness in his appearance. The way his expression was fearful, and his stance more startled than on the actual defence, made it clear to Raj that this man was not trained to defend himself much.

" Who.. Who are you..?"

Raj put the dagger away, holding his hands up. "Please, don't scream."

The man only seemed to get more scared, his voice rising with fear. "How.. How did you get here..? Why are you here? I... Get away, don't come any closer, I-"

Raj quickly rushed forward, pushing the man into the other room and covering his mouth. "Quiet!" He hissed, kicking the door closed. "If anyone finds out I'm here, we're both dead! I don't mean to harm you, I swear, but you can't-!"

There was a woosh in the air, the clang of something metal, and a very painful hit to his skull. He was suddenly on the ground, clutching his head. A figure stood over him, holding what seemed to be a heating pan for the bed.

".. Your highness, are you alright?"

"I-I'm fine, Elliot. I'll go get the guards."

"Wait, no." The figure, a man servant apparently, grabbed the man's arm before he could run out the door. The servant was staring in shock at Raj. "...Your highness, this is Raj Kumar.."

Raj carefully sat up, blinking away the dizziness a bit. Now that he could see the man better in the candle-light, his heart skipped a beat. There was a golden amulet around the other's neck, a symbol of the royal family. This had to be prince Antonio then. Raj half expected that Amadeo had shoved him in a  monastery by now.

The prince was staring at him in surprise, the candle-light making his green eyes nearly glow. He looked Raj up and down, clearly... curious. "...You're Raj Kumar?"

"That's my name, yeah. Happy to make your acquaintance." Raj jokingly gave a little half-bow from where he was sitting.

" What.. What are you doing here? Are you stealing from here...?" He didn't sound accusing. In fact, he sounded... happily surprised. It made Raj chuckle lightly, scratching the back of his neck.

"Well, not exactly. You see.."

But before he could explain, they could hear shouting down the hallway. Raj cursed under his breath, looking for somewhere to hide. He was about to ask if they could hide him, when the prince suddenly yanked him into the bed, going under the blankets with him, hiding him with his back to the door. The man servant, Elliot, threw some extra pillows over to hide him even more, just in time before there was a knock on the door.

Raj stayed quiet, pressed against Antonio, listening as Elliot opened the door. He could hear the servant tsk at whoever was at the door. 

"What on earth are you doing, making so much noise? His highness is trying to sleep."

"I do apologize, but there are intruders in the castle. King Amadeo told us to check every room for them."

"Well, there is nobody here except me and the prince."

"We do have to check, I'm sorry. Raj Kumar is a slippery one. He could be hiding anywhere."

Raj swallowed lightly, and blushed as Antonio held him tighter. Faintly, he could hear Elliot harshly poking a finger against the guard's chainmail as he hissed in a hushed tone.

"And you think he's snuck into our prince's chambers? Crawled into his bed with him?? If he even put a toe into this room, I would know. Now get out, let his highness rest. He's been through enough trauma for a day, the poor thing already needed extra pillows to sleep with. You will not wake him up just because you think some thief snuck into his chambers. Now get out."

There was a mumble of apologies before the guards walked off again, and the door closed. Elliot walked over to the bed, and lifted the blankets with a light chuckle.  ".. Well, you jumped to that chance, didn't you, your highness?"

"I... shut up. I panicked." Antonio huffed, letting go of the flustered rogue. Raj quickly got out of the bed, clearing his throat a bit. "I.. ah.. thank you."

"N-No problem." Antonio muttered. For a moment, they just stared at  eachother , until Elliot cleared his throat a bit. "As cute as this whole thing is, we do need to get him out of here."

"R-Right." The prince stood, pulling Raj to a cupboard. "There's a secret tunnel behind this. Follow it, and you should reach the forest." He turned a little knob, opening the hidden door.

Raj looked at the tunnel for a moment, then turned to Antonio. "Thank you again, your highness. I hope we meet again, in better circumstances." He mused, taking his hand and pressing a kiss to the top of it. Antonio just smiled at that. 

"As do I. Now go. Hurry."

Raj gave a nod, and rushed down the tunnel. As he heard the door close behind him, he couldn't help but smile. The smile wouldn't leave his face as he kept rushing towards the exit. As he stepped out of the tunnel into the forest, he was still beaming. His heart was pounding quite hard, and he felt like laughing as loud as he could.

He was still smiling brightly by the time he found his group of people. It seemed everyone had made it out, with enough bounty to help a village. Leon jogged up to him, grinning too.

"That was close, huh? You took pretty long."

Raj chuckled, looking back towards the castle. " I.. ah.. I got caught up." He mused. Feeling Leon pluck something off of his shoulder and out of his hair, he looked back at him. It seemed to be a few goose feathers, most likely from one of Antonio's pillows. Leon was frowning at the feathers in confusion.

"...What happened?"

Chuckling again, Raj took the feathers, stuffing them in his pocket.

"Let's just say I got some help."


End file.
